COLEThe Inside Track to the Houston Cole Library

The

TrainFall 2015Vol. 12 No. 2

Cain retires after 40 years of service

Page 4 COLETrain Fall 2015

COLETrainthe official newsletter of the Houston Cole LibraryJacksonville State University 700 Pelham Road NorthJacksonville, AL 36265-1602

Visit http://www.jsu.edu/library/news.html to view more COLE Train issues online.

In this issue...

Join the Friends

New resources

Page 4

Page 2

Library gets new dept head Page 2

Librarians honored Page 3

Library spotlighted by GPO Page 3

Sonny Brewer Page 2

Ms. Linda Louise Cain, Associate Professor and Subject Specialist Librar-ian for Anthropology, Ge-ography, and History, has been a fixture at the Hous-ton Cole Library for four decades. She’s watched the Library evolve and grow, moving beyond card catalogs and print indexes to databases and online catalogs. She has evolved with it, serving students by helping them learn the re-search process and utilize the ever-changing tools of information retrieval and

evaluation. But this fall, Ms. Cain is taking the next step in her evolution – into the undiscovered country of retirement.

When asked how she first became interested in the field of Library and Information Studies, Ms. Cain noted her time as a student assistant at the library at Ramona Wood in the late 1960s. She later worked at the medical library at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Ms. Cain says, “I went for an interview on Friday, and they said there were no openings for the foreseeable future. They called on Monday

and said, ‘Someone quit; you’re hired’.” Ms. Cain worked as a cataloger on some fascinatingly horrifying medical materials for two years before return-ing to finish her undergraduate history degree at JSU. She went on to receive both a Masters of Library Science and Bibliographic Specialist degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She began her career at the Houston Cole Library in 1975.

When asked what she remembered about her first day of work at JSU, Ms. Cain says, “Mostly how completely intimidated I was by all my former professors, who couldn’t have been nicer.” These professors, especially in the Department of History & Foreign Languages, greatly influenced Ms. Cain’s career. She speaks of how, as

Cain (right) receives Outstanding Teacher Award from Provost Turner

continued on page 3

Friends of the Library

You are cordially invited to become a Friend of the Houston Cole Library.

The purpose of the Friends is to promote an appreciation of the Library as the center of academic life at Jackson-ville State University and to provide enrichment for the Library’s resources.

The privileges of membership in the Friends include:

An opportunity to participate in the enhancement of the LibraryA card entitling you to check out booksAn opportunity to enjoy programs and activities of the Friends

Stop by the circulation desk and ask for details!

v

vv

Page 2 Fall 2015COLETrain Page 3 COLETrain Fall 2015

LIBRARY ADDS RESOURCES...The process of finding full text articles now looks a little different. Full Text Finder is our new pub-

lication search portal. Users can find journals by using the Journals tab on the Library’s home page or any of the “Find Journals” search boxes in our subject guides. Once in the Full Text Finder portal, users can browse titles or subjects, conduct a search, or look through the index using the tabs at the top of the page. Also, you will now see the “Full Text through LinkSource” link within database results. These links will present full text options for specific articles.

The Library now subscribes to Mango Languages, an online language-learning resource. Mango provides courses at various skill levels, from novice to advanced. We’re proud to offer Mango Languages as a fun resource for our ESL/ELL communities, world language stu-dents, study abroad participants, language enthusiasts, and alumni associations. It supplements the efforts of our interna-tional studies departments, language labs, faculty associa-tions, and student clubs. Included in our subscription is Span-ish, French, German, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin), Arabic, and American Sign Language.

Brewer regales with The Widow & the TreeThe Friends of the Houston Cole Library were pleased and proud to welcome Sonny Brewer, author of the 2012 Ala-bama Library Association Novel of the Year, The Widow and the Tree, on the evening of September 24th.

The Widow and the Tree tells the tale of the ‘Ghosthead Oak,’ a 500-year-old live oak modeled on the real-life Inspi-ration Oak of Magnolia Springs, Alabama. When the widow witnesses repeated casual abuse to the mighty oak, a sen-tinel and sacred place to the widow, she can take no more. The widow hires a stranger with a chainsaw to bring the suffering to an end.

While that would have been enough to talk about on its own, Mr. Brewer didn’t stop there. Holding court on the 11th floor of the Houston Cole Library, he proved himself an af-

fable and engaging storyteller. The Fairhope native shared tales not only of his novel and its inspira-tion, but stories from a broad and bountiful life. Gliding between subjects, Brewer talked about his time as owner of the Over the Transom bookstore and as a construction elevator operator, while also weaving in a good dose of advice for current and aspiring writers. He even had the chance to engage in a little stagecraft, breaking out his hard hat to take a few photos with some lucky attendees.

Brewer is currently at work on his new novel, One Somebody, and promises to return to Jackson-ville when it is finished. Next time he comes around, be sure to pull up a chair.

Librarians honoredcolleagues, they were always unfailingly supportive and happy to work with her and send students her way. They were also pa-tient, and amused, to provide clarification when students were confused about the assignments they’d been given (e.g., go to the Library and “create a bibliography” translated through student-speak into “write a biography”). But the students, says Ms. Cain, “are the best thing about my job – es-pecially the first-semester freshmen. There are those who think they know nothing, and those who think they know everything.” Ms. Cain knows how to assist both, and the result is that “after talking with a librarian, they become comfortable; they feel they can now ask questions and seek help.” Ms. Cain notes that one of the most rewarding aspects of her job is when these students “learn to find information and begin to make judgments about the information they find. Our students are good kids, and the Library sees the best of them.”

Ms. Cain’s retirement plans will leave her far from idle, as she will finally have the time to travel. She’s looking forward to a trip across Canada by train, and especially to seeing the islands off the west coast of Scot-land, where she can explore the tumbled-down villages emptied by the clearances of the 18th century. Ms. Cain will be greatly missed, by her colleagues at the Library, the University faculty and staff, and especially the students. When asked to sum up her career in Library and Information Studies, Ms. Cain replies, “I’ve enjoyed every min-ute.” Her Library colleagues wish the exact same for her in her retirement.

Associate Professor Yingqi Tang (pic-tured at left, standing on the right, ac-cepting her award), Distance Education/Electronic Resources Manager, recently received the 2015 Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) Jing Liao Award. Ms. Tang received the award at the 2015 CALA Annual Award Banquet held on Sunday, June 28, 2015. The Jing Liao Award was established in honor of the memory of Jing Liao (1954-2011), a long-time CALA member and accom-plished librarian at the University of Illi-nois at Urbana-Champaign. The Award is presented to a CALA member who has excelled in research.

Associate Professor Charlcie Pettway Vann (pictured below), Psychology, Phi-losophy and General Reference Librar-ian, was also recently honored when she

was nationally recognized for her kindness, a quality she extends to stu-dents and other library patrons in search of guidance.

Ms. Vann is the winner of the 2015 National Library Week contest, Li-brarians Creating Communities of Kindness. Ms. Vann received a paid registration to the Charleston Confer-ence in November 2015, an informal gathering bringing together “librarians, publishers, electronic resource manag-ers, consultants, and vendors of library materials” in Charleston, SC.

Morgan Kubelka, Association Mar-keting Manager of Wiley, stated, “The nominations we received on behalf of Ms. Vann greatly touched and inspired us.” She added that Ms. Vann’s con-tinual efforts to promote diversity and inclusion on JSU’s campus has had a tremendous positive impact on the academic community.

According to Ms. Kubelka, the inspi-ration to honor kindness and compas-sion in the field of librarianship came from Rachel’s Challenge, a national non-profit organization based on the life and writing of Rachel Scott, the first student victim of the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Its goal is to motivate and equip students to “start and sustain a chain reaction of kindness and compassion that trans-forms schools and communities.”

The Library was fortunate enough to receive double the recognition through this nationwide contest. Ms. Mary Bevis, Professor and Serials and Acquisitions Librarian, was also nominated for the award. As one letter said of Ms. Bevis, “It is a pleasure to deal with a librarian who understands the needs of her customers and is determined to provide the best service pos-sible.”

HCL employees have always been willing to help JSU students and other library users succeed in their personal and academic endeavors. With two nominees in a national contest, JSU has proven its reputation of being the ‘Friendliest Campus in the South’ and beyond.

Cain retirement, continued from page 1

Library honored by Govern-ment Publishing OfficeThe Library’s federal depository opera-tions were spotlighted in the January is-sue of FDLP Connection, a publication of the Government Printing Office. The article closes with this statement: “Houston Cole Library epitomizes the foundations of the FDLP: collection building that is tailored to the needs of the library’s community, excel-lent service and public access, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning.”

This honor is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Library’s per-sonnel, especially those in the Government Documents Department, Ms. Yolanda Cox and Ms. Bethany Latham.

Check out the entire article at http://ti-nyurl.com/p67usca.

Library recognized by Government Publishing Office

...AND A NEW DEPT HEADThe Library is excited to welcome John Bruce Upchurch as its new Department Head of Public Services. A native of Chicago, Illinois, Mr. Upchurch holds a B.A. from Western Kentucky, and he earned both his M.A. and his M.L.I.S. degrees from the University of Alabama. Before joining the team at Houston Cole, he was most recently employed as an Assistant Professor and the User Services Librarian at the University of West Alabama.

As the Head of Public Services, Mr. Upchurch is respon-sible for overseeing the Subject Specialist Librarians, as well as the Library’s other Public Services staff in areas such as Circulation, Reserves, and Interlibrary Loan. The Head of Public Services position was last held by the cur-rent Dean of Library Services, John-Bauer Graham, so Mr. Upchurch knows he has big shoes to fill. He looks forward to meeting the patrons here at Houston Cole Library, and is enjoying the friendly atmosphere of JSU.

On a personal note, Mr. Upchurch’s past includes a stint as an improv comedy performer in Nashville and a col-lege DJ. He enjoys Indian food, listening to NPR, and is a newly-converted fitness enthusiast. When Mr. Upchurch is not in the Library, he spends time walking the Chief Ladiga Trail and traveling to visit friends and family.